Monday, June 14, 2010

Staff crisis at SWC hospital

Staff crisis at SWC hospital2010-06-14 11:36

Johannesburg - Bad management has led to 17 doctors resigning from Leratong Hospital, on Gauteng's West Rand, since the beginning of the year, the DA said on Monday."This hospital faces a staff crisis as there are now 29 vacancies for doctors and 52 vacancies for nurses," DA spokesperson Jack Bloom said.The figure was revealed in a written reply to DA questions by Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu."The root of this problem is bad management. Doctors are leaving because they are poorly managed and staff are not properly disciplined after complaints," said Bloom.The immediate problem was that Leratong was a FIFA-designated hospital for the Soccer World Cup, but was poorly prepared for the extra casualties from "rowdy" soccer fans, let alone any full-scale disaster.Bloom said strong action was needed to turn the hospital around for it to provide a proper service.The Gauteng health department was not immediately available for comment.